AN Acle man is hopeful he will be reunited with his Golden Labrador puppy after it was stolen from his garden. Christopher Weavers, of Hillcrest, returned home on Sunday to find his back gate had been forced open and two gundogs, kept in kennels, had been taken.

AN Acle man is hopeful he will be reunited with his Golden Labrador puppy after it was stolen from his garden.

Christopher Weavers, of Hillcrest, returned home on Sunday to find his back gate had been forced open and two gundogs, kept in kennels, had been taken.

Shaggy, a five-month-old Golden Labrador and Taz, a four-year-old English Springer Spaniel were stolen. However, on Tuesday Mr Weavers was reunited with Taz, worth £2,500.

Mr Weavers, 44, had both dogs chipped and police were able to check Taz was in fact his and the pair were reunited on Tuesday afternoon.

Officers in the case did not want to comment on how they found the older dog Taz while they continue to search for Shaggy, but Mr Weavers said he is hopeful he will be reunited with the puppy as well.

He said: “When I collected Taz from the police station he was jumping all over me, it was great.

“I've trained up Taz myself, so he answers to my call, my whistle, and is probably worth £2,500.”

Carpenter Mr Weavers had bought Shaggy for his 15-year-old son Shane so he could train him up as a gundog.

He said: “I bought him for £450 but as Shane is going to study game keeping he was going to be his own dog.”

Father-of-two Mr Weavers said: “When I go shooting the dogs come too, they're gundogs so they live outside in their kennels. I've trained Taz so he knows me and that was the plan with Shaggy, so he knows Shane.”

The dogs were stolen between midday and 4pm on Sunday and while police said it was rare to have a dog stolen they urged pet owners to take necessary security measures.

A spokeswoman from Norfolk Constabulary said: “This is not a common crime that we see reported.

“However, we would urge people to take basic safety precautions - ensuring your garden and gates are secured and if needs be microchip your pet for extra security.

“We would also suggest if practical leave your pets indoors.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the dog - or anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the area at the time - should contact PC Justine Taylor at Acle police station on 0845 456 4567 or alternatively contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.